


The Long Road Ahead

by fojee



Category: Japanese Drama, Samurai Sensei
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 12:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5666788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fojee/pseuds/fojee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The road unfolds before Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryouma. What will come will come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Long Road Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> Written after the last episode. (Also because my other story felt too lonely.)

His comrade from the police gives them a last salute before driving away, leaving the two of them in the middle of a long road. There's a train station at the end of it. Sakamoto Ryouma isn't sure where he's going, but he knows this is the way to get there. 

"Why did you change your mind?" He asks while they are walking shoulder to shoulder. His body is still sore from their fight. It's been over a year since he's fought with a live blade, and even longer since he's had an opponent as challenging as Aki. "I wouldn't have expected that of you."

Takechi Hanpeita flushes. "I know. I was impetuous and blood-thirsty." He lets the silence stretch out between them before he asks almost casually. "Did you know that Saeki-dono is actually the descendant of Tomiko's adopted child?"

Aza stops in his tracks. "What?"

And Aki explains his dream of going back to meet his wife, and the contents of Tomiko's letter passed down from descendant to descendant. "At that time, I thought it would be worth all our lives to gain equality. And yet here we are after several lifetimes of struggle, in so many ways still powerless. But also free to choose our own path. Maybe there's a better way of fighting. A way that doesn't waste lives but enriches them."

"You sound like a sensei," Aza says, amusement colouring his words. Though he is looking at the distant mountains and thinking of his own choices, both in the past and the present.

"It's the way that I found," Aki replies simply. "The children are young enough to learn honour and virtue. And for the children's sake, the parents come to learn too. It's not going to change overnight, Aza. You know better than that."

Aza laughs. "It's strange. I thought that you were sent back for me, to help me or to stop me. But I think it's the other way around. I was sent back to prepare for you."

Aki frowns. "Why do you say so?"

"Why else have I been brought to Saeki-dono's place?" Aza answers. "I could have been brought back to meet my own descendants."

Aki shakes his head. "I'm not that important, Aza. Even the history books agree."

"Shows what they know," Aza counters. "You think your only legacy were those deaths, Aki? You're wrong. You started the war. And you kept it going even after your death, because people fought in your memory. You showed me that change was possible, that an individual can make a difference. It's a powerful idea." He smiles at his oldest friend, that smirk that's about half-way sincere and half-way self-deprecating. "And you're still teaching me, samurai sensei."

Aki looks down. His straw sandals are holding up pretty well, though it's hard to get used to the surface of the roads in this era. "What will you do now, Aza? The police are still after you."

"I'll change my name again," Aza says, throwing his shoulders back. "Maybe I'll even keep writing. We'll see what tomorrow will bring."

"Your words could always cut as sharp as your blade," Aki agrees. He tilts his head in Aza's direction. "There are more people like Kaidou, aren't there? Death would be too kind for those villains."

Aza's smirk blossoms into a smile. "Exactly."

 

The road unfolds before them, and the two men walk forward without fear or hesitation. What will come will come. In the meantime, they keep their arms strong and their wits sharp. 

In a samurai's hand, anything can be a weapon.


End file.
